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Facebook post stirs MNS nest in Palghar

Mumbai, Nov 28, DHNS & Agencies:

Police quiz 18-year-old; cyber cell to probe case

Palghar police had hardly come out of the controversy over arrest of two girls when on Wednesday it was again questioning an 18-year-old teenager in connection with ‘objectionable’ comments on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray, posted on Face Book.

Police officials from Palghar said that the boy - Sunil Vishwakarma, working in a mutton shop in one of the by-lanes of this small town, has neither been arrested nor detained. “He is being kept at the police station just to prevent any untoward incident in Palghar.”

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the boy does not know to operate the account and “prima facie it appears that somebody deliberately created a fake account to post the comment.”

Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal told media that there is a possibility that either a fake account was opened or it was hacked. The cyber cell in Thane will look into the matter.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday observed a bandh in Palghar town in neighbouring Thane district, protesting the suspension of two police officers involved in the arrest of the two collegians last week over a Facebook post, criticising shutdown during Bal Thackeray's funeral.

The police had made the arrests on the basis of a complaint filed by Palghar local Shiv Sena party workers.

The police came under severe flak for deliberately applying stringent laws by twisting the clauses and an inquiry was ordered into the incident leading to the suspension of two police officers.

Palghar shut down

Commercial establishments, schools and colleges at Palghar remained shut and there was no vehicular traffic in the town, party sources said.

No untoward incident was reported so far, police said.

The Palghar Bar Association had also called for a bandh in the courts today to protest the transfer of the local Judicial Magistrate First Class (JFMC) who had “promptly” granted bail to the two girls.